Fuse



B. L. MOSS.

FUSE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR 22, 1920.

, 1, 91,399; I PatentedSept. 20,1921.

lNV TOR EENJAMM' 055, BY

ATTORNEY5 UNITED-1STAT'E'SYPATENT? OFFICELI BENaA IN' L. Mess erDETROIT, MICHIGAN.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN citizen of the United States of America,residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Fuses, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings;

This invention relates to fuses, and" has special reference to thattyp'eof fuse commonly known as a cartridge fuse adapted to be detachablymounted in sockets, clips or other holding devices to connectysuchdevices and establish an electriccircuit. i

The primary object of my invention is toprovide a cartridge fuse inwhich one and only one, fuse or conductor can be mounted, thuspreventingthe use of additional fuses or conductors to increase the currentcarrying capacity of thecartridgesfuse. By preventing overloading ofthe' fuse the same servesthe' purposes for which it was in tended andmeets one of the requirements of the Underwriters" Association.

Anothenobject of this invention is to provide a fuse having separableparts, one of which constitutes a fuse holder and the other of whichconstitutes an inclosure for the fuse holder. Both parts areconstructively 'arranged so that the fuse may be safely handled,especially when being mounted or dis mounted relative tothe devices tobeconnected'to the fuse; v

A further objectof my invention is to provide a fuse holder in which afuse may be easily and. quickly mounted, the fuse proper being braced sothat it cannot beaccidentally broken or become accidentally displacedduring handling of the fuse. I

A still further object :of my invention is to accomplishthe aboveresults by a durable and inexpensive construction that will behereinafter considered and thenclaimed, and

reference will-now'behad' to the drawing,

wherein a I Figure l is a side elevation-of the fuse;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a cartridge in longitudinal section;

Fig. 3 is a; cross sectional'view of the fuse; Fig. 4 is a plan of aportion of the fuse holder with the fuse therein; 1

L. Moss, a

ruse.

In the drawing, the reference numeral 1' denotes a finger piece orinsulator that may be made of hard rubber, fiber-or other insulationmaterial, and-said insulator is preferably rectangular in plan with one'of its faces provided with an integral fuse holder 2, said holder-beingin the form of arib or flange of less length and width than the insulator. In the outer edgeor face of the holder thereis a longitudinalgroove 3 provldlng a three walled seat for a fuse 4 which 1s preferablyin the form of a ribbon placed on its edge within the groove 3, so thatthe side walls of the ribbon arebraced by the s de walls of theigroove,and in practice" the ribbon is bowed or curvedin a vertical plane sothatits central portion will protrude from the groove, as best shown inFig. 2, thus permitting of the fuse meltingwhen an excess ve current ofelectricity attempts'to pass therethrough. In other words, the walls of6 is a planof a portion of thefuse Specification of Letters Ifatent.Pate te Sept. 1921 Application filed March 22, 1920; Serial No. 367,921.I

the groove do not retard the action of the I fuse, but do 'preclude' themounting of more than one fuse in the groove, consequentlythecurrentcarrying capacity of the cartridge fuse, asv a whole, cannot bematerially increased; The fuse receiving groove of the holder is animportant feature of my invention as it prevents overloading of the.fuse.

The'fuse' 4;, which is made of soft solder or any material having alimited current carrying capacity, has its ends provided with anglepieces5 to which the ends-of the fuse are solderedor otherwiseconnected, as at 6,

face of the holder 2 and the finger nails can be placedunder the fingerpieces or-stops to extract the fuse or severed parts thereof when it isdesired to remove the fuse or substitute a whole fuse for a severed one.The finger pieces or stops 7 also limit the seating of the fuse in theholder.

The reference numeral 8 denotes a cartridge made of hard rubber, fiberor other insulation material, and said cartridge is provided with alongitudinal recess 9 throughout the length thereof andowith opposedfacets 10. Mounted on reduced ends of the cartridge 8 are metallic caps11 which may be fixed thereon by pins 12 or other fastening means, andeach cap has its end wall provided with exhaust openings 13 and aconcentric screw opening 14. The openings 13 communicate with the recess9 and in the openings 14 are mounted screws 15 for holding resilientyieldable contact members 16. These contact members have the screw heldends thereof extending between the end walls of the caps and the ends ofthe cartridge 8, so that the outer ends of the contact members will beclamped and held in addition to the screws 15.

The contact members 16 extend inwardly and protrude beyond the innerends of the caps, within the recess 9, so that the inner ends of thecontact members will be exposed when viewing the open recess. Thecontact members 16, screws 15 andcaps 11 constitute terminals for thecartridge.

The recess 9 is adapted to receive the holder 2 which enters the recesssomewhat as a tongue entering a groove, and the end walls of the holderare cut away or notched, as at 17, so as to expose the end edges of theangle pieces 5, and it is against these angle pieces that the resilientcontact members 16 frictionallypress, as best shown in Fig. 2, thusproviding a metal to metal connection. Theresiliency of the contactmembers 16 not only causes the fuse holder 2 to be retained within thecartridge 8, but establishes a positive engagement with the angle pieces5 so that there will be a metallic conductor from one cap to the other,thus permitting of a circuit being established when the capped ends ofthe cartridge are placed in sockets, clips or other devices representingthe terminals of an electrical circuit. Since the finger piece orinsulator 1 is of less length than the cartridge and has its side edgespractically in the same plane as the facets 10 of the cartridge, thefinger piece or insulator 1 will facilitate installation of thecartridge, without any danger of the fingers contacting with the caps 11and possibly establishing a connection between the caps independent ofthe fuse, which might cause the person installing the fuse to beshocked. The finger piece or insulator 1 is an appraisable feature of myinvention and contributes to safe handling of the fuse,

In operation, the cap openings 13 insure ventilation of the recess 9,consequently when the fuse 4 is burned out there cannot be an excessivecompression of gases or air within the recess 9 and if the cartridge 8is completely dislodged or the holder 2 blown therefrom, as would be thecase when the cartridge is held, the separation of the two parts of thefuse cannot be very forcible.

By reference to Fig. 2, it will be observed that the resilient contactmembers 16 are compound curved so that the intermediate portions thereofmay be engaged by the inner ends of the screws 15, and with said screwsof suflicient length and in threaded engagement with the caps 11, thescrews may be adjusted to shift the inner ends of the contact members16, so as to increase or decrease the pressure of said contact membersagainst the angle pieces 5. It is therefore possible to adjust thescrews 15 and cause the contact members to hold the removable fuse witha desired degree of yieldableness, especially to permit of the removablefuse being withdrawn from the cartridge without disturbing the cartridgerelative to its holding means.

In addition to the resilient contact members 16 serving as a yieldableconnecting means between the cartridge and fuse holder, I may useresilient clasps 18 mounted on the insulator 1, at the sides of theholder 2 and adapted to engage the facets 10 of the cartridge 8, thecartridge being snapped into position on the holder 2 and between theclasps. These clasps are of a conventional form and may represent anysuitable hold-fast device for temporarily retaining the cartridge on thefuse holder.

It is thought that the operation and utility of the cartridge fuse willbe apparent without further description, and while in the drawing thereis illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to beunderstood that the structural elements are 110 susceptible to suchchanges, in size, shape and manner of assemblage as fall within thescope of the appended claims.

What I claim is 1. In a cartridge fuse, a holder having a 115 threewalled groove, and a bowed fuse in said holder groove and protrudingtherefrom. I

2. A cartridge fuse as characterized in claim 1, wherein angle pieces onthe ends of 120 the fuse are seated in said holder and provide exposedcontactsurfaces adapted to be included in an electric circuit.

3. A cartridge, a fuse holder therein and removable from the side ofsaid cartridge, 125 and means carried by said fuse holder engaging theouter side of said cartridge adapted to retain it in said cartridge.

4. In a cartridge, resilient contact members in the ends ofsaid'cartridge, a fuse, 1

and a fuse holder for said fuse held between said contact members andremovable from a side of said cartridge.

'5. A cartridge as characterized in claim 4, wherein angle pieces on theends of said fuse establish an electrical connection between said fuseand said contact members and afford finger engaging means for removingthe fuse.

6. A cartridge having an open side recess therein, caps on the ends ofsaid cartridge, said caps having portions partly closing the side recessof said cartridge, and

fuse carrying means insertible in the side recess of said cartridgebetween the portions of said caps and establishing an electricalconnection from one end of said cartridge to the other.

7 A cartridge as characterized in claim 6, wherein said means closessaid recess and protrudes from said cartridge to overlie said caps andfacilitate removal from the cartridge recess.

8. A cartridge adapted to be held stationary and having a groovetherein, a fuse in said cartridge adapted to be burned out, and meanssnugly fitting in the cartridge groove supporting said fuse within saidcartridge and adapted to be bodily blown outward from a side of saidcartridge.

9. In a cartridge, a fuse, angle pieces holding said fuse in anoperative position and aflording finger engaging means for removing saidfuse or destroyed parts thereof, and adjustable contact members engagingsaid angle pieces and establishing a connection therewith for electricalpurposes.

10. A cartridge as characterized in claim 9, wherein adjustable meanspermit of the resiliency of the contact members being increased ordecreased.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

BENJAMIN 'L. MOSS.

